The South Cariboo Artists’ Guild is inviting the community to step into their new show Winter Wonderland.
Guild member Jess Thomas said the show is an exploration of winter scenes from across the South Cariboo. Each of the dozen artists involved brought their own unique spin to the theme.
“It’s just a range of outdoor activities to full-on Christmas scenes,” Thomas said. “They’re awesome this year. I think when people think Winter Wonderland they think blue but there are so many other colours.”
Artist Penny Bailey said she enjoyed seeing all the different approaches to the theme. Bailey noted that the guild must be gelling together as a group because every painting fits together really well.
“I experimented with value and playing around with different colours and cast shadows on the snow. I really wanted that to be the star of Breaking Through (a painting of poplar trees casting shadows),” Bailey said. “This one made me work, but I’m happy with it.”
New to the gallery and guild this month is professional artist Martin Machacek, who moved to 100 Mile House from Nelson two months ago. Machacek said the South Cariboo has been welcoming, thanks in large part to the guild.
“It’s nice to be among other artists. I’ve never done that in other cities I’ve lived in, this is the most I have ever been a part of an art community,” Machacek said. “They’re excited to have new people on board, so that’s really made me feel welcome and comfortable.”
For the show, Machacek stepped out of his comfort zone of architectural paintings to paint a winter scene. His piece Tree at Crawford Creek depicts a snow-covered tree in a clearing in the Kootenays.
“The Kootenays are quite surrounded by mountains, there’s not a lot of sky, and that particular spot is one of the meadows where it’s kind of open. It kind of reminded me about being here and seeing a big sky with large meadows and the sun setting,” he said. “I get excited about big horizons.”
Thomas, meanwhile, painted a colourful piece, Walking in a Winter Wonderland, depicting her partner and her father snowshoeing with their dog through the trees. The painting was based on a photo taken in the Yukon, but she said it could just as easily have been the Cariboo.
Winter Wonderland will hang at the Showcase Gallery in the South Cariboo Business Centre until the first Tuesday of February.
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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